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More than a dozen local mayors and other elected officials convened on Tuesday at City Hall in Hollywood, Florida, for a dialogue organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) on municipal approaches to tackling rising antisemitism.
Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy and CAM CEO Sacha Roytman delivered opening words, and CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz then led a roundtable discussion focused on CAM’s 11-Step Municipal Action Plan Against Antisemitism.
In his remarks, Mayor Levy recalled CAM’s 2023 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism hosted by Fort Lauderdale last November, where he spoke at the closing event.
“It taught us a lot about what we can do to fight antisemitism and have our frame of mind in the right place,” Mayor Levy said. “South Florida is very aware of antisemitism, we have a large Jewish population. But there is still more to discuss and put into action, and that’s what we’re here for today.”
Roytman commented, “Florida has been a safe place for Jews until now, but antisemitism is also getting worse here now like elsewhere in the United States. But I think because we have the support of so many mayors here and the strong Jewish community here, Florida can be a model to teach the rest of the country how mayors can have an impact in fighting antisemitism.”
Tuesday’s discussion largely centered around municipal responses to the global surge of antisemitism triggered by the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel. Just this past weekend, a man was assaulted by anti-Israel demonstrators outside the Jewish Community Center in Davie.
Participants in Tuesday’s meeting included: Tamarac Mayor Michelle Gomez, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, Parkland Vice Mayor Jordan Isrow, Weston Commissioner Chris Eddy, Plantation City Councilmember Louis Reinstein, Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine, Jewish Federation of Broward County Executive Director Evan Goldman, Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward County Chair and Chair of the Alcee Hastings Black-Jewish Alliance Denise Lettau, and CAM advisor and former Bal Harbour Mayor Gabriel Groisman.
